


Between Heaven and Hell

by DiamondWings



Series: Bloom, Love [3]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (technically) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angel Felix, Angst and Fluff, Ask Felix, At least according to his bosses, Cake Shop AU, Demon Seungmin, Fallen Angel Felix, Felix goes through A Lot, Felix messed up, Guardian Angel Felix, Hallucinations, Happy Ending, Hurt Felix, M/M, Minor Character Death, Pretty graphic description of one minor character death, Scarred Felix, Seungmin is a half demon but an angel at heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21570658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondWings/pseuds/DiamondWings
Summary: An Angel and a Demon walk into a cake shop. Or maybe one carries the other, but that’s details.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Lee Felix
Series: Bloom, Love [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553968
Comments: 21
Kudos: 210





	Between Heaven and Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Felix shuddered as the surface of his pond rippled again, smoothing over and going back to it’s original, translucent state. He’d found true love… In such an unlikely place, such an unlikely form… 
> 
> His heart squeezed, warmer than it had probably ever felt before, as he thought about the couple he’d been in, yet the longing it felt was in no way appeased, and before he knew what he was doing, he focused on the ceiling pool again, the surface rippling and darkening before focusing on a still of another world, the image starting to move as the last of the ripples smoothed out…

_A hallway. Grey walls, the second light from the end flickers._

_A grunt._

_He turns, and there He is. Sweat beads on His forehead as He lugs a person up the stairs. It’s a young woman, unconscious, slung over His shoulder like a sack of flour. She looks so young, so innocent. She did nothing to deserve this. As he looks on while He lugs her inside the dingy apartment opposite the stairs, the woman comes to, and starts struggling. He drops her, and a second later she has that damned pungent rag pressed over her face again. She struggles, tries to call for help, but it’s no use. Before her eyes roll back again, her eyes lock with his own, wide and panicked._

_Something snaps inside him. He can’t take it anymore. This is the fourth victim, and he knows exactly what is going to happen to her if he doesn’t do anything. And he has to do something. He is not her guardian angel, no; he is His. But it is not Him who is in danger, it is her. It was the boy last week, the girl before him, and the young man two months ago. They were in danger. He failed them. He won’t fail this one._

_Carelessly, He leaves her on the tarped floor in the living room, leaving to get His tools from the kitchen. When He comes back, he steps in front of him._

_“Move.” He demands, but he shakes his head._

_“I said, move!” He reiterates, but he doesn’t budge._

_In a single swipe that was impossible to predict, He lunges and the scalpel He is holding cuts through his throat. It burns, but before the feeling can even settle in, the cut is already healed._

_“You have to stop.” He tries to tell Him, but He only glares at him._

_“You don’t get to tell me what to do!” He tries to push past him, hacking at him with the scalpel, and while each cut stings, they heal in seconds, so he isn’t worried as he holds Him back, pushes Him back, far away from the unconscious woman._

_“I won’t let you kill any more people.” He states firmly, and the look in His eyes is wild._

_“You don’t get to decide that! You are my angel!_ Mine _! Not theirs! You protect_ me _! Not them!” He screams wildly, but he only shakes his head._

_“I can’t let you do this anymore.”_

_“You have no right to decide who lives and dies. You are not god!”_

_“Neither are you. You don’t get to decide whose lives to end, either.” He tries to reason, but he is starting to doubt he can get through to Him when He lets out another maniacal laugh._

_“No, I’m not god. But I can still decide. I have free will!”_

_Before he can react, He slashes the scalpel across his own throat. It is dulled from hacking at him, the cut is uneven and a little jagged, but deep. Blood gushes out immediately; so, so much blood._

_With a startled cry, he rushes to Him as he stumbles and falls to his knees, catching him and trying to staunch the flow. With His quickly fading strength, He pushes at him, pushes him away, His smile looking diabolical with blood-stained teeth and lips. He gurgles, coughing more blood onto him, before all His weight rests against him. He tries, tries to heal, tries to stop the blood, tries to save His life, but he can’t. It’s too late. Not even his angel powers can help him. He dies, there, in his arms, and he can feel the bond ripping apart as His soul leaves his body._

_“No! No, no, no! You can’t- you can’t die!” He cries, but he knows it’s futile._

_He failed. He failed to protect his charge. The first human he was ever assigned to, and he failed to protect Him. He didn’t even last a year._

_But he can’t mourn. He won’t mourn. He has things to do. There is nothing he can do for Him, but he can do something for the woman. He kneels next to her, and without touching her, erases her memory. Then, he brings her back home, leaving her on her couch, the TV on. She’ll think she fell asleep there later, when she wakes up. She won’t remember any of this._

_Back at the dingy apartment, he removes all traces of her from Him, and from the room. It’s as if she was never there._

_Only He is there._

_He doesn’t know what he should do with His body. Should he clean up? Should he leave everything like it is? Should he alert human authorities?_

_He doesn’t get to decide, his whole body feeling like he is erupting in flames as he is summoned back to Heaven._

***

Felix woke up with a choked scream. There it was again, the nightmare, and in full detail; like every time he tried to sleep.

Well, not every time. Sometimes, he dreamt about the first victim, the young man. More rarely about the other two victims. Most often about the last death, the death of his charge. Never about his banishment from Heaven; he wasn’t granted a glimpse of what he missed most even in his nightmares.

All he was allowed to see in his nightmares was blood. So much blood that he didn’t even need the nightmares to see it, for the images carried into his waking hours just the same. He could almost feel it, the stickiness coating his own hands, the life-force he was supposed to protect clinging to his fingers instead.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it. He swore he could even smell it, at this point. If he looked down on himself, he could probably still see it, too… Still, he looked. There wasn’t enough light there, under the bridge where he slept, but his exhausted mind and what little of the city light that managed to find its way under here played tricks on his mind, and he was _sure_ he could see it. He could see the dark stains on his chest, his stomach, across his lap. He could feel the stickiness seeping through, plastering his clothes to his skin, he could even see the outline of the bloody handprint on his shoulder where He had pushed back against him.

Hastily, he scrambled to his feet and away from the layers of cardboard he called his bed, down the banks of the river. He had to get rid of it, he had to wash it off, wash it off, _wash it off-_

Water splashed as he ran into the water, starting to scrub at his clothes, scrub his hands, his entire body. He barely felt the cold of the water at first, not caring, but eventually, it registered. His soaked clothes weighed him down, the current of the river pulling at him, pulling at his feet, unsteadying him.

He had to get out, or else he might drown. Not that he could die, not really, but he could drown. Drown again and again and again, until he washed ashore somewhere, where he wouldn’t drown again when he was forced back into life.

“Hey! What are you doing there?! Are you crazy?!” Someone yelled from the shore, somewhere in the darkness, and Felix whipped around.

It was a mistake, since the movement caused him to lose his footing, and he slipped. Instantly, the current of the river took hold on him, dragging him with it and down. He tried to fight it, tried to stay afloat, but the current was too strong, and it pulled him under. His lungs screamed for air all too soon, and again he tried to fight it, tried to resist, didn’t want to breathe in, but all too soon his lungs filled with water and his senses faded.

He didn’t feel the claws closing around his shoulders, lifting him out of the water, didn’t see the winged creature that flew him back to the shore on dark wings.

***

He came to with a deep breath, followed by violent coughing as torrents of murky water from the river made their way out of his airways. His lungs still screamed for air, and he almost couldn’t provide them with enough between his coughs and hacks, choking himself by breathing in the water that was already on its way out.

“There, there… Let it all out.” He heard a soothing voice from somewhere next to him, but he couldn’t focus on it, too busy gasping for air and coughing.

“Ok… Ok, I think that should be all of it. How about you just try to breathe for now, hm?” The voice came again, but Felix ignored it.

“You’re hyperventilating. This won’t do…”

And then he felt hands on him, hands moving him around, sitting him up, leaning him against something and then cupping his face, forcing him to look up.

“Hey… Can you see me? Can you focus on me?”

As a matter of fact, he could. There was light, but he couldn’t make out the surroundings. He could, however, make out the person in front of him. Bright cherry red hair greeted him first, catching his attention, before his gaze wandered down to find a set of dark brown eyes behind a pair of thinly wired glasses looking worriedly at him, the lips further down set in a frown.

“You can, right? You’re focusing on me. That’s good. Now listen to me, and breathe as I tell you. Breathe in, in, in… Hold- That’s ok, let’s try again.” The person – boy – went on, holding Felix’ attention as he guided him into calming his breathing. Every breath hurt, but also brought relief, and his head, his vision, started to clear.

After not too long, he could make out their surroundings, finding they were in some sort of back room. There was a couch he was sitting on, towels all around him, most of them soaked. A table was there, too, pushed against the wall with three chairs around it, and a row of lockers. On the table and on the floor were boxes, some open, some sealed, empty or filled with various things: napkins, paper cake bases, ceramic cups, metal straws, bottles with different kinds of syrups, packets of colourful sugary sprinkles…

“Feeling better?” The boy asked suddenly, and Felix’ attention was drawn back to him.

“Who are you?” He rasped out as his first question, and the boy’s left eyebrow rose.

“Rude, but ok. I’m Seungmin. Kim Seungmin. And you, while we’re at it?”

“Felix. Where are we?”

“You’re an inquisitive one, aren’t you? We’re in my shop; the back of my shop, to be precise… Ok, I admit, that sounds ominous. I run “Bake Up”, the cake shop on the promenade by the river, near the pedestrian bridge. I believe that’s where you were camping? And where you tried to drown yourself.”

Felix shrunk in on himself at the accusing tone.

“I didn’t-…” He started, but Seungmin interrupted him.

“What did you expect would happen if you went for a swim fully clothed, huh? The currents are crazy here this time of the year, did you really think a nightly swim in full montage would be a good idea?”

Felix shook his head slowly.

“No… I didn’t… I was just… I wanted to…” He couldn’t very well tell Seungmin he wanted to wash the blood off; blood that wasn’t even on himself anymore, and hadn’t been for weeks now. “I felt… dirty.” He settled for, in the end.

Seungmin gave an exasperated sigh.

“And then you decide to go wash yourself in that shit-stream of a river? At four in the morning? You were probably cleaner before you touched that water, not gonna lie…” Seungmin scoffed, then sighed.

“You… nearly died there. You were lucky I was there to pull you out. And even now, you need to get out of those clothes if you don’t want to die of a massive pneumonia - actually, that might still be the case, considering the water you inhaled, but you have a better chance of surviving if you change out of those clothes.”

Felix didn’t meet Seungmin’s eyes. He couldn’t tell him that yes, he might get pneumonia, but no, he wouldn’t die from it. At least not permanently. He had eternity to suffer here on earth now; couldn’t have some silly pneumonia end his punishment prematurely.

“I don’t have any other clothes…” He settled for admitting instead.

“I figured. I always keep some clean changes of uniform in here, in case I or the staff ruin our clothes during the day. You can take one of those. There is a shower in the bathroom over there, too. Use it, change, and I can put your stuff in the washer. You can sleep here and in the morning, your clothes should be dry. You’ll find everything you’ll need in the bathroom. If there’s anything else you need, yell; I’ll be in the kitchen.”

With that, Seungmin got up and left. Felix stared after him, incredulous. He couldn’t believe it. He felt like he couldn’t accept the offer, either. But, to be honest… He had reached a point where he was past caring about what he should and shouldn’t accept. He was hungry, cold, miserable. He didn’t care if it was rude, if he was taking advantage of Seungmin’s kindness… The other had offered, and he would take what little comfort he could get for himself for once. So, he got up, took a change of the uniform, and made his way to the bathroom.

***

Seungmin peeked into the break room over an hour later, finding the angel asleep on the couch. Well, fallen angel, he supposed. A fallen angel that was being punished, if the fact that he had died and been forced back to life was any indication.

Seungmin’s lips pursed as he watched the angel shift restlessly. Whatever he had done to fall, he didn’t care. No one deserved the life he had been forced into; and he knew for a fact what kind of life it was, since he’d been in his shoes before.

Well, almost. He’d been forced out of Hell into the human world, and he still had a majority of his powers. This one… The only indicator he’d had that he wasn’t, in fact, human, was when he’d come back to life. And that… That was just cruel. And he wouldn’t stand for it. He had decided against the demon life because he did not want to stand for cruelty, and he did not want to stand for it still. He didn’t give half a fuck about Heaven’s punishment for the angel, he would not let him suffer alone!

***

Felix woke up from an increase in noise around him. Blinking his eyes open, the first thing he noticed was daylight streaming in through the window in the back of the room, the next… a human standing at the lockers and tying an apron behind her back. Felix froze, not knowing what to do.

“Oh, you’re awake! Hey there!” She greeted, before hurrying out. She didn’t close the door, however, and Felix could hear her call in the hallway.

“Seungmin! The kid’s awake!” She announced, and what felt like seconds after, Seungmin came into the room, wiping flour covered hands off on a batter-stained apron.

“Hey! Sleep well?” He asked, friendly, closing the door behind him. Immediately, the noise died down, and Felix felt like he could breathe easier.

“Y-yeah…” He answered quietly, and Seungmin’s smile grew.

“Good! Your clothes are in the drier, still, but you can keep those on for now. I’m sure you are hungry, aren’t you? There’s food in the kitchen, and not just cakes. We carry sandwiches, too.”

In response to the mention of food, Felix’ stomach growled loudly. He was still unfamiliar with the feeling of hunger, often not recognizing the uncomfortable burning cramps in his stomach as a need for food. Now that Seungmin mentioned it, though, he could smell the scents of pastry permeating the air, and his stomach growled yet again.

“If… If you don’t mind and can spare something…”

“I most definitely can. Come.”

Seungmin got up, waving at Felix to follow him, but Felix hesitated. Seungmin gave him a questioning look, tilting his head as he looked back expectantly, and Felix’ nerves sky-rocketed.

“There’s- there’s… people. Too many… people.” He managed to stammer, and Seungmin’s expression softened.

“Not in the kitchen. They are all busy out front.”

Felix gave him a pleading look, pleading that he was telling the truth, and Seungmin returned it with a reassuring one.

“I promise. There won’t be any people but me in the kitchen.”

Felix was not sure if he could trust Seungmin on that, nor was he sure why he felt like it was ok if there was just Seungmin, but his hunger won this round against his logic, and he followed Seungmin into the kitchen.

In there, it was a mess. Bowls with rests of batter piled in the sink, trays with baking parchment stacked next to them, almost every surface was sprinkled with flour and sugar, icing stuck to places that were never meant to be iced and sprinkles were everywhere. Off to a side was a counter that was miraculously free of sweet things, reserved for sandwiches. Still, crumbs littered every square inch of the surface, buttery knives stuck to the counter and pieces of lettuce accented the mess.

“I just got done preparing everything for the morning rush, I haven’t had time to clean yet. But that was next on my schedule! I need all of that clean to prepare for the lunch rush, after all!” Seungmin hastily explained the mess, stepping past Felix into the kitchen. He whizzed around the center island, coming back to Felix with a plate full of cake edges and crooked or broken cupcakes that couldn’t be sold out front.

“They don’t look pretty, which is why they are not out front, but they still taste the same as the pretty ones out front. And if you’d rather eat a sandwich: over there, feel free to make yourself one, or two, or however many you want!” He indicated the respective counter, making sure to shove the plate with the cakes and cupcakes in Felix’ hands and steered him gently out of the way.

“I would make you sandwiches myself, but I have to start cleaning up. Sorry about that.”

Felix tried to reassure him it was ok, tried to apologize for standing in the way or taking up Seungmin’s time, but it was all drowned out when the pile of bowls stacked by the sink collapsed and clattered into the sink loudly. Seungmin didn’t seem too bothered by it, simply picking up what had fallen to the floor before rinsing the bowls and stacking them into the dishwasher while humming a happy tune. He was so absorbed in his work that Felix didn’t dare interrupt him, and also didn’t expect him to turn to him again any time soon. It was reassuring, and he felt less judged, tentatively trying the ruined pieces of cake.

They were delicious. Now, Felix might have been biased, and he might have laid off all pickiness since he really couldn’t be a chooser, but in all honesty, every bite he took, everything he tried, was another miraculous explosion of taste to him, and he genuinely couldn’t tell which one was better. They were all beyond simply delicious.

He should probably have stopped at some point, but he couldn’t. He just kept eating, one piece after the next, until the plate was empty. He felt slightly nauseous afterwards, but he didn’t regret it.

“Oh no…! You ate them all? Are you ok?!” Seungmin’s voice suddenly cut through the kitchen as he rushed to Felix’ side, taking the empty plate from him and cupping Felix’ face in his hands, making him look up at him.

“I-I’m ok… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… They were just so delicious, and I was so hungry…” Felix apologized, words slightly slurred as Seungmin was squishing his cheeks.

“Were they? Were you? Was that why you couldn’t stop? They didn’t-… No, it can’t be, I only did that- These should not- There wasn’t-” He stopped himself, clearing his throat, when Felix gave him a confused look. “You really just liked their taste?”

What a weird question to ask… But Felix nodded, anyway.

“Yes. They tasted delicious. The blueberry one… A dream. And the cheesecake! And that banana and nut bread, delicious! Especially with the hint of almond in it.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened.

“You really tasted them all…”

“Yes!”

His smile grew, although shaky.

“Ok… Ok. And you liked them. Ok. That’s… good. But you should have been more careful, eating too much at once… You might get sick! Do you feel ok?”

Felix nodded shyly, a small burp bubbling up, which he let out silently.

“I do… A little… full. And I kind of don’t want to think about food for a while. But I’m… I’m ok.”

Seungmin breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s… I’m relieved, now. I thought you’d eaten-… Too much. I thought you’d eaten too much, and felt sick now. But I’m glad you don’t. Now, do you… Do you want to rest some more?”

Felix thought about it for a just a second, before shaking his head.

“No. I don’t think I can lie or sit down now. I’d rather stand. Is there anything I can help you with? I want to help. I’ve accepted so much of your help, I want to make up for it.”

Seungmin kept his smile small, even though inwardly he was smiling much brighter, much more content. Angels and their sense of justice and wanting to pay their debts… In this case, it would work in both their favour, though, so he didn’t bother denying Felix his request.

“Actually… If you could rinse these and unload and load the dishwasher when it’s done… I need the utensils, and quickly; lunch rush doesn’t wait!”

***

Felix was not an experienced dishwasher, but he did alright, and Seungmin managed to get a headstart on the preparations for the lunch crowd, finishing just in time, but with no dishes to clean for the afternoon, since Felix had already done so. That left him with an opening to properly sit down with Felix for a chat.

“So… You don’t really like people? But you seem fine around me…” He asked, and Felix’ previously joyful expression fell.

“It’s… not so much that I don’t like people… I’m just… wary of people. Actually, I don’t know why I don’t feel like I have to run as far away from you as I can… And I mean no offense by that, I’ve just had some pretty nasty experiences.”

Seungmin nodded slowly.

“Understandable…” He’d been wary of humans before, too. Growing up around demons, he’d seen and heard of the very worst of humanity. As for himself… Felix might not have his powers anymore, but it could be that he still sensed he wasn’t human, either. Now, if he could tell what he really was, he might have ran even faster and even further from him than if he were just human, but since he didn’t, Seungmin decided he would keep his true nature from him, for Felix’ own sake. Best to pretend he was human, and that he thought of Felix as such, too.

“You seem pretty young still… Around my age, maybe? Have you been on the streets for long?” He asked, feigning cluelessness, but also… not.

“Not that long… A month, maybe? I was thrown out of-… my home, for doing something I believed was right, but that led to a terrible wrong. No one cared about my intentions, and this is my-… what happened in the end.”

Typical angels, Seungmin thought. They prided themselves on being so good and righteous, but all they ever saw was the bad and wrong, and their punishments were always over the top.

“That sucks. I’m sure you deserved better.” He stated with conviction. Despite already knowing the answer, he still decided to question Felix further. “So, if you got thrown out… Did they at least let you keep your stuff? Documents? Degree certificates? Anything that might help you get you back on your feet?”

As expected, Felix shook his head.

“I don’t have any degrees… or documents. That’s why I can’t get a job, or place to live.”

“Cruel. Unnecessarily cruel. Tell you what: I know some guys, who know some guys, and they can get you documents. Whatever you want. I know you can’t pay for them, but I’m willing to do it if you work for me. And not just dish-washing, I’ll make a real pastry chef out of you. That way, you get documents, and work experience. What do you say?”

Felix’ eyes widened, and Seungmin wondered if he’d come off too strong, too soon.

“But… Won’t you get in trouble for employing someone without papers until I have the documents? And will those documents even work…?”

“Oh, trust me, those guys know what they are doing. No risks to it. And they are quick; a week or two, max, and in that time no one will bother checking on the legality of the employees of a cake shop.”

Felix chewed on his lip thoughtfully, unsure whether he should accept or not. He had a feeling that something was not completely right about all this.

“Why are you offering this to me…? Why are you being so nice?” He questioned eventually, and Seungmin couldn’t say he hadn’t expected this.

“Because I’ve been where you are now. Kicked out of my home, without a place to go, no degrees, no job experience, no documents. I would still be there if it hadn’t been for a kind soul who scraped me off the sidewalk and turned me into a functional member of society. When I fished you out of the river, I felt like this was my turn to do right by someone just like someone once did right by me. And I have faith that one day, you will have the chance to do so, too, if you accept my help.”

Felix stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Hu- people are not that kind, for no reason…” He stated, and Seungmin felt compelled to shrug. He didn’t know, wouldn’t know. Neither him not his benefactor back in the day were human.

“If it makes you feel better, you can see it as me paying back my debt to the universe. And later on, you can do the same, when the time comes.” He could tell that this was what would work for the angel. Debts was something they understood. And really, Felix seemed less inclined to deny him by the minute.

“So, if I were to accept…” He started, and Seungmin had to suppress a victorious smile. “What would that mean for me? What do I have to do?”

“You work here and learn to become a pastry chef. You help me and learn from me. I take care of your documents, and I’ll pay you for your work. Until you can find yourself your own place to live, you can camp out in the back room. That’s it.”

Felix thought about it, but didn’t seem convinced.

“And what do you get out of it… Except payment for your debt with the universe?”

“Help in the kitchen, out of cleaning duty, a hopefully competent sous-chef, and an errand boy.” Seungmin answered without having to think about it twice. Sue him, he was still a demon after all, and he was not above delegating tasks he didn’t particularly enjoy when given the chance. On top of it, that list seemed to finally convince Felix, too, since he nodded slowly as he thought about it some more.

“Ok…”

***

Felix would be lying if he said he understood Seungmin’s motivations completely, but he told himself he didn’t care; he had nothing to lose anymore, and what Seungmin was offering him now was better than what he had. And like he had done earlier, in the middle of the night, he forced himself to not care what was right or wrong and to accept what was given to him. If he turned out indebted later, so be it; he would pay the debt when the time came.

And so, he let Seungmin tell him what to do: wash the dishes, fetch ingredients, stow away new deliveries of ingredients, mop the floor, and the highlight of that first day: fill batter into baking trays. All of that kept Felix out of the vicinity of any humans working or frequenting the shop. He didn’t mess it up, either, and Seungmin was content with him by the time they closed the shop.

“I’ll call the right people tonight to get your documents started. I’ll just need some pictures of you, and what you want us to put in your documents; family name, birth-date, parents’ names, birth place, …”

Felix blanked at those questions. He didn’t have parents that he knew of, nor a birthday, nor any of that…

“Or should we just make something up? Give you a completely new back-story? That’s not a problem, either.”

Felix nodded in agreement to that. He didn’t have what it took to make up a whole life based on lies, he would gladly let someone else do that for him.

“Ok, one new life for Felix it is. And I have to get going. Make yourself comfortable, and try to get some sleep. I’ll come to wake you up at four in the morning!”

***

Seungmin’s guess was that Felix had tried to get some sleep, but pretty much failed and passed the time in other ways. The always quite disorganized break room that kind of doubled as a second storage room most days was much more picked up and organized, as well as cleaned. A recipe book lay on the table, opened on a page describing how to obtain different kinds of texture for icing, and the pile of spare uniforms normally piled up and hanging over the back of one of the chairs was neatly folded and arranged by size and item type.

Felix was laying on the couch, curled up impossibly tight, and shaking. Not from cold, Seungmin could tell without trying, but distress. The smell was pungent in the room. Distress and exhaustion both. Quietly, he approached the sleeping angel, and he was already reaching out to touch his forehead to figure out what was distressing him, when he decided against it. If Felix wanted to share his troubles with him, he should have the right to do so in his own time.

Instead, he decided on a simple quirk to keep nightmares away from the sleeping angel and allow him a dreamless sleep. Instantly, Felix’ shaking subsided and he relaxed onto the pillowy surface of the couch, much to Seungmin’s satisfaction. He had meant it, before, that he would come to wake Felix at four to help him start on the cakes for the morning, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so now. The angel clearly needed the rest, without nightmares to plague him. So, he let him sleep, draping a blanket he had brought for him from home over him, too, and left the room again to start on the cakes on his own.

***

When Felix woke up, it was to noise again. He found himself fighting against waking up, though, for once. He wanted to stay in the warm, soothing darkness where his thoughts were quiet and serenity encompassed him…

But his thoughts were no longer quiet, and quickly he found himself questioning since when his thoughts were quiet when he slept, and why was he warm?!

His eyes flew open, protesting against both the daylight and artificial light they were confronted with, but he sat up abruptly, the blanket falling off his shoulders.

Wait; blanket?! He didn’t have a blanket, so why-… And why did the clock over the lockers say eight in the morning, didn’t Seungmin say he would come to wake him at four?

That was when the noise registered, and he figured he must have overslept.

Hurriedly, he got up, running out of the room and to the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to oversleep! I’ll make up for it-” he stopped himself when he saw Seungmin’s stoic expression, falling to his knees and bowing his head in respect and submission like what had been drilled into him by his superiors. A sigh reached his ears.

“Get up from the floor, Felix, there is no need for any of that. I let you sleep in on purpose. You must not have slept much by the time I came in, given that the whole room was picked up and cleaned. You earned the right to sleep some more.”

Felix rose slowly, confused, but didn’t question it.

“What- what can I do to help now?”

“Go take a shower and change into a clean uniform. Take your time. I have it all under control here.”

Felix wanted to protest, but didn’t. He simply followed the orders given to him, returning half an hour later to Seungmin presenting him with a plate containing a loaded sandwich and a pair of crooked cupcakes.

“You can’t live off cake alone. Sit down there and eat.” He instructed, pointing Felix to a stool in the corner, and Felix went without complaint. The sandwich was delicious, as were the cakes, and he had been starting to feel hungry again, so really, he didn’t even want to complain.

“There you go…” Seungmin smiled once he was done. “How did you sleep?”

Felix blinked up at him, the question not confusing him per se, but the answer he had for it did.

“I slept… Well, actually. Thank you for the blanket.”

Seungmin gave him a welcoming nod.

“You’re welcome, and I’m glad. That means you’ll have all the more energy to clean up those bowls, right?”

Immediately, Felix nodded, hopping off his chair and moving to the sink to start cleaning up.

“Damn, boy… I didn’t mean immediately… We’re well on time, there’s no need to rush.” Seungmin whistled lowly, clapping Felix on the back and moving him to the side, in front of the sink.

“You rinse, I stack, you dry, I put away. Good?”

Felix nodded, and they started working. They fell into an easy rhythm, working in perfect harmony with each other, and in no time the kitchen was clean, and ready to become a mess again in preparation for the lunch rush.

Seungmin didn’t let Felix near the actual cakes he prepared for lunch time, but since Felix left the kitchen clean and ready at the same time Seungmin finished the last of the cakes, giving them both a break, Seungmin decided to start teaching Felix in the free time that opened for them.

***

Felix was a fast learner. He picked up what Seungmin was explaining to him in no time, as well as the techniques he showed him. It took only a few days for Felix to master the basics and start helping Seungmin beyond cleaning and fetching ingredients. Seungmin was impressed, and a little jealous. It had taken him much longer back in the day. On the other hand, he was glad, since that meant Felix could actually take some real work-load off his shoulders soon.

At the same time, the angel was completely oblivious and trusting when it came to him, for some reason. He shied away from the humans he employed and who visited his shop as if they had the plague, but around him, his guard was non-existent. It made it easy for Seungmin to keep his demon nature hidden from Felix and continue using his somewhat unorthodox methods when it came to enhancing the quality of his cakes. The only thing he had to keep an eye on was to make sure Felix didn’t accidentally eat any of the food he’d enchanted. He’d gotten quite the scare when Felix had eaten all of the discarded pastry in one go that first day, making him believe that he’d overdosed on demon magic for a second there. Angels reacted quite differently to it than humans did, after all, with or without their powers, and he didn’t want to hurt Felix.

Days turned into weeks, and Felix’ documents came in. Passport, birth certificate, social security, fiscal registration, health insurance, graduation papers, work permit, driver’s license… Seungmin stopped at that last one, pocketing the card for the time being. First, he would have to teach Felix how to drive, before he let him get a hold of that one. Felix might be immortal, but the vast majority of the people using the roads were not, after all.

“Felix, I have something for you.” Seungmin called that day, after they’d cleaned up after the lunch rush, indicating him to follow him into the break room, where he slid him the folder with his documents.

“Your name is Lee Felix, you were born in Sydney, Australia, on September 15th, 2000, grew up and went to school there and only came over recently. You are of Korean descent, got approved for double nationality, and were thus granted unlimited right to stay. Here are all your documents.” He summarized the story Felix was given. It had been a genius strike to give him a past in a different country, which would easily explain away any troubles he might have adjusting to the culture and customs of humans in general as simply those any human would have when coming to a place they weren’t familiar with.

Felix accepted the folder with wide eyes, going through the documents inside.

“And these are all…”

“All valid and as good as legal. Even if you travel to Australia with them. Might want to avoid people who went to those schools during the time you supposedly attended them, too, though.”

Felix nodded slowly, staring at the documents in awe some more.

“Now, something else: your first proper, actual, real documents. Work and apprenticeship contracts.” Seungmin interrupted him eventually, sliding him a stack of paper. “Read through it when you have time and the right mind for it, I don’t need your signature immediately.”

***

It went without saying that Felix signed the contracts. And nothing really changed after he did, except that at the end of the month, Seungmin paid him his first pay-check, and he got time off work.

Now, that was a problem, though. Time off work meant he had no reason to stay in the back of the cake shop, and supposedly actually had to leave those rooms and move around the real world, outside. He didn’t want to tell Seungmin why that thought terrified him, for he couldn’t exactly explain it to himself, never mind someone else. Most definitely, he couldn’t tell Seungmin that humans scared him because he’d once been assigned to protect a serial killer, and now all he could see when confronted with humans were either more potential serial killers, or he saw them lying in their blood, after he’d failed to protect them. No, he was sure that would not go over well.

Still, he decided to brave the outside world and take Seungmin’s suggestion to go and shop for some clothes for himself, after Seungmin had brought him some of his own clothes so he didn’t have to walk around town in a work uniform.

Mostly, people minded their own business, ignoring him completely, and for that Felix was grateful. That came to an end when he entered the shops, though. Eager clerks came over asking him if he needed help with anything, other people reached past him to get to clothes they wanted themselves, and of course, he had to interact with cashiers when paying for his purchases.

He managed fairly well, but when he went to pay for a bus ticket and the person in line in front of him started arguing with the cashier, quite loudly and quite rudely, Felix’ snapping point was reached. He broke out of the line, deciding he’d rather walk back to the cake shop than be on the same bus with that person; that person, whose words were so harsh and mean they reminded him of his charge. Now, what if that person decided to kill the cashier? And he’d left them there? He didn’t do anything? What if the cashier-…

All he could see in his mind was blood, suddenly, and he started running. He bumped into people, barely seeing them, but he heard their voices when they called after him, protesting, insulting him, and he only ran faster. Faster, faster, further, further, until he burst through the door of the cake shop and ran straight past the register and into the back. He ran so fast, the cashier on duty didn’t recognize him and called out, starting after him.

Full on panicked, he burst into the kitchen, startling Seungmin into crushing a cupcake he was currently icing.

“What the- Felix?” He barely had time to look up before Felix darted past him, his cashier hot on his heels.

“It’s just Felix, it’s fine, go back out front!” Seungmin assured the boy quickly, stopping him, before turning to Felix, who was shaking like a leaf, standing in the corner next to the fridges, as far away from the door as possible.

“Felix? What’s wrong?” He tried, keeping his voice calm and level as he approached him.

It took Felix a moment to recognize Seungmin, with his eyes screwed shut and pressed up against the wall behind him.

“Felix, it’s me, it’s just me, Seungmin. Whatever happened out there, you are safe here. No one will come in here, it’s just us. Do you want to let go of those bags now?” He reached out carefully, taking Felix’ hands in his. Slowly, Felix let go of the bags he was still holding on tightly to, and Seungmin took them out of his hands and set them aside before taking Felix’ now empty hands back in his and rubbing soothing circles onto their backs with his thumbs.

“You’re safe here, Felix. Breathe. Whatever scared you is somewhere else and won’t get to you in here, I promise. You’re safe.”

Felix knew that, and he believed Seungmin. But the images of the blood were in his head, and they wouldn’t go away. That was nothing he could protect him from.

“Maybe not, but I can get you out of there. Open your eyes, Felix, and look at me.”

Felix’ eyes snapped open at the command, and his gaze found Seungmin’s worried one right in front of him. Slowly, calmly, Seungmin did his best to talk Felix out of his head, distract him from the images, until Felix calmed down, the adrenaline left his body, and exhaustion came crashing in over him instead. Seungmin caught him when his knees buckled, threatening to give out and pulled him against himself.

“There, there. Easy, Felix. Do you want to talk about it?”

Felix didn’t answer, not for the longest time, and Seungmin wasn’t sure he was even still awake for a while, before Felix finally answered.

“He was yelling at the cashier, and all I could think about was… What if he doesn’t just yell? What if he-… And the cashier-… What if I couldn’t help them? What if I failed again? What if, because I left, that cashier would d-…” he couldn’t continue on, tears springing to his eyes and his breathing picked up again.

Seungmin held him closer, rubbing his back soothingly.

“Shh, Felix, it’s ok. It’s ok. I’m sure they are all ok; that cashier is ok, too. They probably already vented about the shitty customer on their social media and were comforted by their friends and have already forgotten about the incident. That happens all the time in customer service. None of what happened was your fault, and none of what could have happened was, either. Everyone is ok, and you will be, too. Do you want to go lie down for a bit?”

Felix shook his head quickly, clutching to Seungmin tightly.

“Ok, no lying down. Do you want to stay here? Do you want to help with something, get your mind off things?”

After a moment, Felix nodded, and Seungmin patted his back gently.

“Ok. Come sit down for a bit while I get you an apron, and then you can mix food dye into the icings for me, ok?”

That was how Felix found himself sitting on the stool by the center island, apron tied around him and stirring a bowl of pink icing, while Seungmin told him about the new recipe for chocolate and mint cupcakes he was trying out, and eventually fed him some pieces of the cupcake he had crushed when Felix had first come in. It helped calm Felix down, and keep him calm, even though he missed Seungmin’s arms around him, holding him.

“So, what did you buy?” Seungmin eventually tried to get Felix to talk, too, nodding at the bags of clothes still sitting in the back by the fridges.

Felix looked over to the bags, recalling slowly what he had bought and listing the items for Seungmin. While he wasn’t looking, he missed the spell Seungmin put on the cupcakes before declaring the tray ready to go outside and putting it on the rack for the afternoon rush.

“Sounds like you made some really good choices. I can’t wait to see you wearing them; I’m sure they will look stunning on you!” He complimented as he passed Felix, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly, and Felix felt warmth well up inside him.

“I bought a new shelf- wardrobe- closet- something like that, for the back room. To sort all the spare uniforms in, and other things. It was high time to get something like that to get some order in that room. Want to help me set it up after closing? You can take some shelves for yourself and for your new clothes when we’re done.”

“Yes. I’d love to”

Seungmin gave him a blinding smile, one that made Felix’ heart stutter.

“Great! Can’t wait for closing time, now!” Seungmin sang, rounding the island again to start icing another batch of cupcakes.

And if later that day the closet only came together with the help of some demonic magic, Felix remained none the wiser, falling asleep contently after a job well done on a pillow that might or might not have been enchanted to ward off his nightmares, too.

***

Seungmin was protective of Felix, he admitted that. Only to himself, but he admitted it. Extremely protective, even. He never, ever, wanted to see Felix as distressed as he had been that one day ever again. And so, he decided to accompany Felix on his ventures to the city from then on. He was the boss, he could decide when his days off were, and he could decide to make them coincide with Felix’.

Felix certainly looked more relaxed and more willing to leave the cake shop with Seungmin by his side than otherwise. And if Seungmin made sure no sounds of arguing humans made it to Felix’ ears, no sights of conflict were in his line of sight, that he didn’t catch wind of the daily news, full of destruction and catastrophes, that was his business, and his business alone. And Felix’, of course, but what Felix’ didn’t know…

Seungmin knew he couldn’t protect and shelter the angel forever, of course he did. But he could try, and he would try his damned best! Even though he wouldn’t have minded a reason to hold Felix in his arms again, but he didn’t want it to happen because Felix was distressed. He was a demon, not a selfish asshole!

“Have you ever had Italian food?” Seungmin asked at the end of one of their trips outside, to which Felix shook his head.

“You have to try it! Noodles are great, too, but pasta… pasta is different. Ooh, and don’t get me started on their appetizers! Like antipasti! I could eat my weight in that! But I guess that’s not for everyone… Bruschetta, on the other hand…! I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like bruschetta. And the desserts! Have you ever heard of tiramisu? Wait, you don’t like coffee, never mind. But sometimes there’s strawberry tiramisu, that would so be up your alley! What? Why are you looking at me like that?!” He stopped his rambling when he noticed the look Felix was giving him, smiling dopily.

“Nothing. You’re cute when you ramble on about something you’re excited about.”

For a moment, Seungmin wondered if the door he was just in the process of opening was a secret entrance to Hell, judging from the warmth that hit his face all of a sudden. Then, he realized it came from inside himself, and he was, in fact, blushing furiously. All because the angel – oblivious as he was, bless his beautiful soul – had called him cute.

“So, bruschetta, right? Are you going to order antipasti? I want to try it, if it gets you so excited.” Felix asked when they had sat down, picking up the menu. “What’s cannelloni?”

Seungmin caught himself, going through the menu and explaining all the dishes to him. In the end, Felix settled on tortellini, though he was already scanning the dessert menu before the first of the appetizers even arrived.

Cute, Felix had called him. Did he have any idea how cute he was, himself? He was the definition of cute. He was ethereal, despite having his angelhood revoked from him. He didn’t need a halo or divine shine or pristine white wings for that, and when he laughed… Screw the divine angel choir, he put them all to shame with just a giggle! And his eyes, when he laughed, the way they crinkled and his beautifully freckled cheeks pushed up, turning his eyes to crescents… They looked dark when he did, almost like a demon’s eyes, but on the other hand, so not. They held a warmth that had nothing to do with the fires of hell, a sparkle that reminded of the stars on a clear night sky rather than a demonic glimmer. His eyes were so unlike anything he had ever seen, and they held him absolutely entranced…

“Seungmin? Seungmin! Hello, earth to Minnie…!”

So entranced that he completely missed the question Felix had obviously just asked him.

“Huh? What?!”

Felix giggled.

“Cute…” He breathed. “I asked if you knew where the toilets were.”

“O-oh. Uh, over there, around the corner, and then on the left.” He answered quickly.

Whipped, that was what he was. Absolutely whipped, and not by one of the fiery whips of Satan that banished demons and sinners alike to wherever he wanted them, but much more thoroughly and much more permanently… And much more pleasurably.

“Who’s that cutie who got my Seungminie making heart eyes and looking like a kicked puppy as soon as he turns his back, hmm?” A voice suddenly interrupted Seungmin’s thoughts, making him whip around.

“Wonpil! What are you doing here?!”

“Tss, such a warm welcome!” The newcomer scoffed, sliding into the booth next to Seungmin and wrapping an arm around him while putting down the tray with appetizers he was carrying. “I work here.” He stated the obvious.

“Here? But I thought… Your shop?”

“Got bored, needed a change of air and occupation. I didn’t know you were here, too?”

“Y-yeah, I have a shop by the river…”

“Still cakes?”

Seungmin nodded.

“Do you still charm them?”

Again, Seungmin nodded.

“You were always really good at that, better than at baking, at least. There is not a human who can resist coming back after eating one of your charmed pastries. Now, the uncharmed ones…”

“I’ve improved!” Seungmin defended himself, but Wonpil only laughed.

“I would hope you did! It’s been over sixty years! You had to have learned something in that time…!”

Seungmin huffed.

“Of course, I did. People like my pastries even without the charm… I don’t feed my employees the charmed ones, and they still come back for more.”

“I would eat them, too, if they were the only thing around during an eight hour shift. Say, do your part-timers eat them, too?”

Seungmin scowled, shoving at Wonpil.

“You’re evil, demon; begone!” For good measure, he zapped his former co-worker -another demon who’d been banished from Hell and been taken in by the same mentor, though he only laughed, deflected the zap and returned it with one of his own, which Seungmin deflected as well. He got up, though, and Seungmin froze as he saw Felix standing there, staring at the two.

“Oh, shit… Did I cause trouble in paradise? Sorry, not intentional! I’ll take my leave. See you, Min!”

And with that, Wonpil was gone, leaving Felix and Seungmin alone.

Seungmin swallowed thickly.

“Hey, Felix… I… I can explain...”

“You’re a demon.” Felix stated, shaking himself out of his stupor and sliding onto the bench on his side of the booth. “You’re a demon, and I can’t believe I didn’t see that before.”

Seungmin flinched.

“To be fair, I tried really hard to hide it from you…”

Felix nodded slowly.

“I… Think I can tell. Just… why?”

Seungmin blinked in confusion.

“Why… what?”

“Why did you hide that from me?”

“Are you serious?! You’re an angel and I-” He broke off, his eyes widening. Shit, he’d slipped up, _again!!_ Just how many times could he fuck up in the span of five minutes?!

Felix only nodded again.

“So, you knew that, too.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry, Felix. I knew, but… I didn’t want to scare you away, that’s why I pretended not to know, and that I was human, too. I wanted to help you, and I didn’t think-… Had you known, would you have stayed? I didn’t want to risk you running back to the streets rather than staying and learning so you can sustain yourself eventually.”

Felix listened quietly, then let out a quiet sigh.

“Is that all?”

Seungmin didn’t know what he was talking about, shifting about nervously in his seat.

“Is what all?”

“You only wanted me to stay to help me? Not for… anything else?”

Seungmin shook his head rapidly.

“No! I really just wanted to help you! I told you, and everything I told you about my reasoning is the truth! I only hid my demon nature and that I know what you are from you, Felix, nothing else. I promise!”

Felix tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at Seungmin slightly, and Seungmin froze, swallowing thickly.

“And the fact you charm the pastries to get humans addicted to them.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened, and he gasped before he hastily tried to defend himself.

“That’s part of my demon nature, so of course I hid that from you! But I never charmed any pastry that I gave you, or one of the other employees! I swear!”

Felix sighed, shaking his head at him and picking up a piece of bruschetta, contemplating it.

“You know, you really don’t need to charm the pastries. They are delicious on their own, and people will come back for them no matter what; they are just that good.”

Seungmin spluttered incoherently, taken aback both by Felix’ sudden nonchalance about him being a demon, and his compliment to his baking skills.

“W-what? A-are you serious?”

Felix hummed, biting into the bruschetta and chewing slowly.

“These are really nice…” He halted, though. “Wait! If your demon friend works here, is this food charmed, too?!” He yelped, almost too loudly, and Seungmin frantically motioned for him to talk quieter.

“Shh! No, it’s not!”

Felix narrowed his eyes at him again, and Seungmin felt like cowering in the crease between the cushions of the bench under the glower.

“It really isn’t, I swear. I would be able to see or sense it, and it’s not charmed. Promise.”

Felix seemed to believe him, since he swallowed and shoved the other half of the small baked tomato and cheese bread into his mouth.

“Anyway… Yes. Your cakes don’t need charming to be delicious.” Felix continued nonchalantly after swallowing the second bite. “And I’m sure everyone else who tried them would find them irresistible, too, even without the charm.”

The compliment warmed Seungmin, and he let out a tentatively relieved sigh.

“I’m glad you think so… You know, I don’t know if you heard what Wonpil said, but he’s right… I didn’t use to be such a great pastry chef, and… and better safe than sorry. I can’t run a cake shop if people don’t like my cakes…”

Felix looked at him as if the mere idea that people could not like his cakes was preposterous. That, and…

“So, you just take away people’s free will and force them to come back to buy more, even if your cakes were awful?”

Seungmin flinched.

“Well… I mean… That sounds so much worse, gah…! But, you just said they weren’t awful, so there is no harm done, right?”

Felix glared at him, though the effect was mitigated by some tomato sauce that stuck to the corner of his mouth and his tongue that came out to lick it off in an almost kittenish way.

“That’s not the point, Seungmin. You’re literally taking away people’s right to _choose_ to come back for more. Have you thought about what could happen if, lets say, a sick person eats one of your charmed pastries? What if someone decides to just eat a pastry of yours once, just once even though they really shouldn’t? But they would be ok, if they ate one just once. Now, with your charm, they would be forced to come back for more. And again. And again. And that would hurt them, but they can’t stop, because they are charmed?”

Seungmin stared at Felix, wide eyed. He had never taken that into consideration.

“Also, wouldn’t it be so much better, so much more flattering, if you knew people came back for more of your cakes because they truly liked them, and not because you are good at charming them?”

Seungmin let out a tiny exhale. He had never contemplated that, either.

Felix sighed quietly, shaking his head, before eyeing the plate of antipasti in front of Seungmin.

“Can I try some of your antipasti?”

Seungmin quickly slid the plate closer to Felix.

“Sure! It’s, it’s sour, though. Like, pickled.”

Felix nodded, picking up a piece, smelling it, and then popping it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

“Interesting. Also, by the way, yes. To your earlier question. Had I found out you were a demon from the beginning I would have ran away. So, good thinking to keep that hidden from me at that point. Still, I can’t help but wonder what other things I should probably know that you never told me… Or what things are only half truths…”

Seungmin took a deep breath.

“I’m only a half demon, which is why I kind of had a choice of whether I wanted to stay in hell or live on earth. I grew up in hell but decided against it eventually. So, I was sent to earth, much like you, with nothing to my name, and some of my powers stripped. Not all of them, though, so I at least had that. I got picked up by another exiled demon who ran a cake shop, and he taught me, both baking and honing the powers I have left. I’ve been living on earth for roughly seventy years. I… I think that’s it? There isn’t that much to my life, nothing to hide, really. Unless you count my addiction to autobiographies and books about plant symbolism…” He rambled off in one go, and Felix stared at him in bewilderment, giggling in the end.

“Oh, Minnie… I didn’t… Didn’t mean to make you confess all of that. Not if you didn’t feel like it, anyway…”

Seungmin shrugged.

“I have nothing to hide from you anymore now that you found out what I am…”

Felix nodded slowly, biting his lip in slight nervousness.

“You already know I’m an angel… And that I was banished from heaven… Stripped of my powers and damned to live on earth for all eternity… Right?”

Seungmin nodded in answer to Felix’ question, but he wasn’t sure Felix had seen it, since he kept avoiding looking at Seungmin, fixing his gaze on literally everything else.

“I- I used to be a guardian angel… But I failed to protect my charge. He was my first and-… Will you be upset if I don’t tell you what happened? I- I can’t-… Just thinking about it, I-” He broke off when Seungmin covered his hand that was crushing the napkin next to his plate with his own, squeezing it comfortingly.

“You don’t have to tell me, Felix. I can tell it still upsets you greatly. I know you still have nightmares about it, and flashbacks, and whatnot. I didn’t pry to see what about, but I gave you that pillow for a reason. It’s enchanted to keep your nightmares away… Sorry, I should have mentioned that earlier, but I promise that is the only enchanted thing I ever gave you, and only because I couldn’t bear to see you so exhausted all the time and squirming and crying in your sleep…”

Felix’ eyes widened for a second before he sighed, shoulders drooping.

“I can’t even be mad at you for that… I hadn’t been able to sleep in peace a single night since being banished to earth, always seeing… those images, before. But… You promise there aren’t any more enchanted objects?”

Seungmin shook his head.

“I promise. Just cakes and the pillow.”

Felix sighed, nodding, and leaned back as he waited for the waiter, apparently Seungmin’s friend, to set down their main courses. He merely told them to enjoy the meal and vanished again.

Felix looked at the food curiously before trying one of the tortellini, humming in delight at the taste once he did. Seungmin followed hesitantly, feeling too nervous to truly enjoy his meal.

“How are you so… So _cool_ about all of this?”

Felix rose an eyebrow.

“Do you _want_ me to freak out and run away screaming?”

“No! No, of course not! But… I imagined you would take it so much worse…!”

Felix sighed quietly, shaking his head.

“I might have, had I found out sooner, to be honest. But… You’re just… you. Demon or not. And you have never done anything to harm me, or anything that gives me a reason to want to run. And… natural enemy or whatever… Do I even count as an angel anymore? It feels foolish to hold on to that, the way I am now…”

Seungmin exhaled slowly, reaching his hand out across the table, and Felix put his own in it without hesitation.

“I don’t want you to run or be scared of me. I would never want to hurt you, Felix. I- You-… You are very important to me. Very, very important. I just… I want to protect you forever. I want to keep all the evil away from you until the end of time, and make sure there is never a day you are sad, or where you see anything that upsets you. I… I would do everything for you, Felix. As long as it makes you happy, I would literally do everything, no matter what.”

Felix blushed prettily, shaking his head.

“That-… I’m not a chef yet, but… That surely sounds like a recipe for disaster! Please, don’t do _everything_ for me. I am not good at making good decisions, and I don’t want to be the reason you cause disasters. Just… The enchanted pillow is fine, teach me how to bake and… and hold me when the images come back. That’s all I would ever ask of you.”

***

“And all of these are uncharmed?” Felix asked again, just to make sure, and Seungmin nodded, wringing his hand.

“Yes, Felix, they are…! Please, do you think I would be this nervous if they weren’t? I still can’t believe I’m doing this…” He muttered under his breath, running his hands through his hair, disheveling it beyond repair.

Felix took his word for it and pushed the cart with the various trays of pastry out of the kitchen and to the front counter, where the girl who opened with them was already waiting to sort them into the display cases. Felix didn’t stay for small-talk, he never did.

Instead, he went right back into the kitchen, where Seungmin was still standing, hands buried in his hair, eyes wide, and holding his breath. His face was already turning red, and Felix poked his side, causing him to squirm and exhale the breath he’d been holding.

“Hey… It will be ok, Minnie… Your pastry is the best in the entire city, people will love it. Even without the charm. You’ll see.”

Seungmin made an incoherent whining sound, before pulling Felix close and burying his head in his shoulder.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this. Why am I doing this? Why am I listening to you? Are you sure you are powerless? Because I can’t believe I’m doing this utterly foolish, totally dumb, absolutely brainless thing of my own volition! Actually, it’s not too late yet, I can still-”

Felix interrupted his rambling and kept him where he was, impeding him from rushing outside and behind the counter to charm the pastries.

“Seungmin, don’t. It will be fine. You are a good chef; the _best_ chef. Your cakes will be as loved as always, if not more.”

Seungmin whined again.

“Why are you doing this to me? Let me go, please… I can’t do this, I need- I need to make sure-…” He struggled weakly against Felix’ hold, but Felix only tightened it, pulling Seungmin closer and cupping his face.

“There was this beautiful, red haired demon who told me not to let him go out there to charm the cakes, no matter what. He was pretty serious, so I don’t think it would be a good idea to let him go. I heard it already happened twice before, and each time he was very upset about it. So, I’m not letting him go out there again. But, I might have a distraction…”

While Seungmin was still whining softly through the first part of Felix’ little speech, he perked up at the end.

“Oh?”

Felix gave him a crooked half smile as he cupped his face in both hands, holding his gaze with his own.

“I’m so proud of you, Kim Seungmin… So proud. And, if you need an incentive, how about this: if you don’t charm a single pastry today, all day long, you get to kiss me. On the lips. Tongue and all.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened, mouth parting with a gasp.

“Pastry who? I don’t know a pastry. What is that, even? I don’t care, I don’t give a fuck about pastries!” He rambled, but Felix merely laughed lightly, and if the Choir of Angels weren’t biting their own kneecaps in frustration that all their singing would never compare to that sound, Seungmin swore he didn’t know right from wrong, up from down, left from right anymore.

“All day, Min. You have to make it through the whole day first.”

Seungmin whined, then straightened up, trying to put on a determined expression.

“I will get that kiss, Lee Felix! That is a promise!”

It might have been a promise, alright, but it was not easy, and Seungmin found that out the hard way throughout the day, with every batch of cakes Felix carried outside that wasn’t charmed. Never before had he wanted a day to pass faster.

Eventually, evening arrived, though, and they could close up. As soon as Seungmin locked the door behind the last customer, he let out a relieved yell, collapsing to his knees in the middle of the shop.

Felix couldn’t help but laugh as he joined him, kneeling in front of him and taking his hands in his own.

“You did it, Minnie. You did it. A whole day without selling charmed pastries!”

Seungmin let out a sound that sounded like a sob, almost, letting himself fall forward, and leaning his head against Felix’ shoulders.

“I did it… I really did it…!” He lifted his head slowly, gaze serious as he looked deeply into Felix’ eyes. “I would have never been able to do this without you, Felix…”

Felix smiled gently at him.

“I’m sure you would have. You are stronger than that, Seungmin. But I’m here so you don’t have to be. Not all the time, at least.”

And with that, Felix leaned forward, capturing Seungmin’s lips sweetly with his own.

Seungmin’s eyes fluttered shut as he tasted Felix’ lips on his own. Felix had promised Seungmin he would get to kiss him, but Seungmin found he was perfectly content with letting Felix kiss him instead, reciprocating just enough to keep Felix going, to encourage him to lead the kiss as he pulled him closer.

Annoyingly enough, even though they were both technically immortal, they still needed to breathe, and eventually they broke apart, panting for air. Seungmin found himself unable to let go of Felix, though. And more.

“Move in with me.”

The words were past his lips before he knew he was about to say them, and Felix’ eyes widened.

“W-what?!”

“I mean, as roommates! I- I’ve been wanting to move to a bigger apartment, but… It’s lonely, alone, and unnecessary, but- Please, move in with me. You deserve better than my staff break-room, and together we can afford a bigger apartment-”

“Seungmin…”

“Please, Felix! I- I really don’t mean anything more by it, I just- would just like to- to share- spend more time with you, and know you have a nice place to stay, nicer than the break-room, and-”

“Seungmin!” Felix interrupted again, and Seungmin finally shut up, giving Felix a wide-eyed, startled look that vaguely reminded of a kicked puppy.

“What if I wanted you to mean more by it?” He asked, voice level, and Seungmin gasped.

“You- you… Do you?”

Felix shrugged.

“Maybe.”

“You would- You want me to- You mean-”

Felix rolled his eyes, sighing deeply.

“Will you be my boyfriend, Kim Seungmin?” He sounded almost bored as he asked, but by the twinkle in his eyes, Seungmin knew bored was the last thing Felix was.

“I- I- Your b-boyfriend- I- Yes. Yes! Yes, I want to!” He stuttered, stumbling over his words, and Felix sighed, relief in every molecule he exhaled, smiling at Seungmin.

“Finally. Now, are you going to kiss me this time, or do I have to do _everything_ myself tonight?”

For once, Seungmin didn’t have to be prompted twice.

***

“For someone who says he doesn’t mind having the smaller bedroom, you spend an awful lot of time in mine, Felix…” Seungmin teased lightly, poking Felix’ cheek as he joined him on the bed.

Felix mumbled something incoherently, swatting at his hand lightly.

“What was that?” Seungmin asked again, dropping his hand from Felix’ cheek to his shoulder, rubbing small circles into it.

“I said, you’re a better anti nightmare ward than my pillow…” Felix mumbled, turning to his side and burying his face against Seungmin’s shoulder. Seungmin sobered immediately.

“They are still plaguing you?”

Felix nodded slowly.

“Damn… Just how bad are they…?” It was a rhetoric question, but Felix answered anyway.

“I would tell you, but I don’t think I can put it into words. But… if you want to, I can show you.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened.

“You would? Isn’t that worse?”

Felix shrugged.

“You’re there, and can hold me. That’s all I need.”

Seungmin swallowed thickly. He didn’t want Felix to go through those memories that clearly plagued him still, but on the other hand… He really wanted to know, if only to be able to comfort Felix better.

“If you can do that…” He whispered in answer, and Felix searched for Seungmin’s hand with his own, holding it tightly before closing his eyes. Seungmin copied the gesture, and it was not long before he began to see it; a person. Another person. A person stained with blood, and one… lying in their blood. And another. And another. And- pleading eyes, and then another body, against a blood stained chest, fighting off help as he quickly bled to death.

Seungmin thought he was going to be sick, and he wrapped his arms around Felix tightly.

“Min?” Felix voice sounded a bit strangled, and he pushed slightly against Seungmin’s hold. “Min, you’re crushing me- are you crying?”

Seungmin took a shaky breath, not opening his eyes and not answering. Gentle fingers brushed against his cheeks, wiping at the tears. He reached up, catching Felix’ hand in his own, squeezing lightly.

“How can you comfort me right now? How have you… How have you dealt with this for so long on your own?!”

Felix took a shaky breath, too, one that reflected sheer endless tiredness.

“I haven’t. But not having to see it every night in nightmares and avoiding humans has helped me not think about it constantly. And thinking you were human but didn’t fit in either the serial killer or victim category helped, too.”

Seungmin gasped quietly, looking down at Felix’ face next to his.

“Is this what you see in humans?”

Felix nodded.

“Every time. I see them being either one or the other. And I don’t know which is worse.”

“And I have been forcing you to interact with humans all this time. I am so sorry, Felix…” Seungmin winced, tears welling up again in his eyes.

“Don’t be. You didn’t force me to. You’ve been incredibly understanding and accommodating. But I need to learn to function around humans, anyway…”

“Not like this, though, Felix. You… This can’t be good for you. We-… I know some people. People who are not human. And not demon. People who… who can help you, maybe. If you want to. To learn to live with humans, and to learn to live with… with what happened to you.”

Felix held on to Seungmin tightly.

“I don’t want to go to other people, Seungmin. I want to stay with you.”

Seungmin’s heart stuttered almost painfully, so great was his affection for the angel.

“You don’t have to leave me, Felix. I’m too selfish, anyway, to want to let you go. But you could at least try to talk to those people. You don’t have to do it now, nor any time soon, if you don’t want to. You have endless time. But I am sure it would help you.”

Felix didn’t answer immediately, thinking about it silently before letting out a weary sigh.

“I’ll think about it. But, can we sleep now? We have to be up in six hours…”

***

Seungmin held his breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart as he stood outside the store, clutching a small, intricately carved wooden box tightly to his chest. The intricate designs, symbols and runes itched and burned against the skin of his hands, but not enough for him to want to let go of the box.

Deep breaths, he told himself, forcing his lungs to cooperate. Deep breaths. He could do this. As much as he was scared, as much as he was afraid of the outcome, he could do this. For Felix. Felix deserved it. Felix deserved everything good, and most importantly, Felix deserved to be able to choose. It was not up to him to deny him this choice. It had been half a century since Felix had been stripped of his angelhood, he deserved this.

Another deep breath, and Seungmin pushed himself off the wall next to the door of the cake shop at the corner of the side-road leading to the central plaza. It had been two weeks since they had opened at this new location, and they still had the grand opening benefits program rolling. Felix loved grand opening benefits weeks, which was probably – definitely – the reason they had moved the location of the shop so many times over the last fifty years, way more often than what was technically necessary so people wouldn’t grow suspicious of them for not ageing.

“There you go, two slices of angel cake, one choco-mint muffin and one strawberry-cheese tartelette. That’s eleven sixty. Do you collect points? Ah, there you go! Four more… Two more and you get any piece of pastry of your choice for free! Have a good day!” Felix smiled at the customer from behind the counter, handing her the stamped card back. As soon as he spotted Seungmin coming in, his already bright smile amplified tenfold.

“Minnie!” He exclaimed, as if he hadn’t seen him for years.

“It’s been two hours, Lix… Have you missed me that much?”

Felix pouted.

“Always! Also, you left me alone with the morning rush, you jerk!”

Seungmin huffed lightly, unable to suppress a smile, though.

“You love working the morning rush, you weirdo. Did it go well?”

Felix nodded enthusiastically.

“It did! We are already getting regulars! Stamp cards will never fail to work on humans, will they…” He grinned, and Seungmin chuckled. He failed to hide his nervousness, though, and of course Felix noticed.

“You’re nervous… Did something happen? Is everything ok?”

Seungmin nodded hastily, looking around the front of the shop quickly, just to see it was empty.

“Everything’s fine. Can I steal you to the back for a second, though?”

Felix frowned, concerned despite Seungmin’s reassurance, and quickly followed him into the break room in the back.

“What is it?”

Seungmin smiled shakily.

“Well, first of all: happy fifty year anniversary!” He leaned forward, brushing a kiss against Felix’ lips.

The angel didn’t mind, not at all, but he tilted his head in question.

“Thank you, and likewise… Of what exactly, though?”

Seungmin couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Since we got together, officially, you doofus.”

“Oh! Oh… Yeah, right… Sorry, I get them all mixed up, there are so many anniversaries by now…”

Seungmin chuckled.

“There are, but this one is important. Which is why I have a special gift for you.”

Felix gasped.

“Min! We said we wouldn’t bother with gifts anymore, over twenty years ago!”

“I know! But, it’s been fifty years, and that’s special, right? Besides, I’ve been trying to get this for you for decades, since way before we said no more gifts! And, it’s not really a gift, anyway…”

Felix narrowed his eyes at him.

“What have you been concocting, Min? You could have at least warned me, so I could have gotten you something, too! Now I’ll feel bad because I didn’t get you anything!”

“No, Felix! This is not why I got you this! Listen, just, just accept it, ok? I mean, you don’t have to accept it, if you don’t want to, but hear me out on what it is, ok?”

Seungmin didn’t wait for Felix to answer again, extending the box to him. His hands were read and achy from holding on to the box covered in angel-runes for so long, but he didn’t care.

Felix’ breath hitched as he saw the box, reading the runes.

“Seungmin… It’s hurting you!”

Seungmin only held on to the box tighter.

“It’s ok, it’s not that bad. Felix, I want you to have this, but, before you open this… Be careful before you touch what is inside, ok?”

Felix nodded mutely, and Seungmin surrendered the box to Felix, who opened the hatch with a wildly beating heart, but didn’t lift the lid.

“Do I want to know, Seungmin? Do I really?”

Seungmin exhaled shakily.

“I don’t know, Felix, but you deserve to have it, either way.”

Felix finished opening the box slowly, and his breath hitched when his gaze fell upon the amulet resting in the box.

“Seungmin, is this…”

“It’s your angel amulet. Your key to Heaven. And it holds all of your powers. Once you touch it, you will get them all back, including your status as guardian angel and access to the halls of Heaven.”

Felix was unable to tear his gaze from the gently glowing amulet.

“How did you… How did you get this…?”

“I… I know some people, who know some people, who-”

Felix’ huff interrupted him, and Seungmin looked up to find Felix looking back at him.

“Ok, I got it. But… What does it mean, if I touch it? I get my powers back, but… Do I have to return to Heaven if I do?”

Seungmin blinked, confused.

“Have to…?”

Felix took a deep breath and nodded, lowering the box slightly.

“Have to. Because, if getting my powers back means I have to return to Heaven… I’d rather not have them.”

Seungmin’s heart jumped, beating wildly, and he teared up at Felix’ words. He did his best to push the tears back, though.

“You… You don’t have to. You can, but you don’t have to. It is up to you if you want to pick your duties back up, or not. You can have your powers back and stay in the human world.” He explained, and Felix’ face lit up. Still, he wore an incredulous expression.

“How did you achieve this? Angels are not forgiving, much less the arch-angels. They don’t admit to mistakes, and they don’t make amends. So how… how did you get this deal from them?”

Seungmin averted his eyes.

“Well, the people I know, who know some people, who know-… anyway. Someone quite powerful showed the arch-angels what would have happened had your charge lived. And had you not protected that girl. And… they also showed them what would happen if you are not given this choice. I- I don’t know what it is, but apparently, well… It motivated the arch-angels to return your powers to you, with a tight to choose.”

Felix shook his head slowly.

“How many favours do you owe how many people for this…?”

Seungmin shrunk a little on himself, and it was all Felix needed to know. He sighed, straightening his back before looking back down at the amulet.

“I accept my powers and status back, but I choose to remain in the human realm and not pick up my duties again.” He declared, loud and clear, before picking the amulet up.

As soon as he touched it, it was as if a strong gust of wind rushed through the back room, slamming into Felix. The angel stumbled, groaning as the force of his powers returning to him threw him back, and he toppled onto the couch behind him.

“Ouch…” He winced, tugging at one of the large white wings protruding from his back. “I forgot how unpractical these things can be in enclosed spaces…” With a small shake, the wings disappeared in a flash of light, along with his halo, and he was back to the same appearance Seungmin had gotten used to for half a century now.

“You… you chose to stay here? For real?!” He couldn’t believe it, not really.

Felix hummed, getting up from the couch and smoothing his uniform down.

“Yes. Someone has to look after you and make sure you don’t run into trouble, now that you gave all those favours away. Besides, we need to prepare for the lunch rush!”


End file.
